Date Night

Zoe had a late start, so there was no need to get up early. After some coffee and porridge, I wandered around the corner and joined Zoe and Ellie on the walk to school. 

There was no walk after the school run. I had to get back to take Di to the railway station. She was catching the 09:26 train to Victoria, where she would meet up with Jane and Trevor. I dropped off some bags of clothes at the charity shop on the way home, then completed the week's shopping list. I headed off to Sainsbury's (I was allowed to shop on my own, with no female supervision) and loaded the trolley in record time. When I got home, Lottie was there, so we ended up chatting while she finished cleaning and I unpacked the shopping. With the accompanying chat, it took nearly an hour to get everything stowed away.

Meanwhile, up in town, Di was enjoying lunch at Côte Brasserie near Covent Garden before going to the Aldwych Theatre to see "Tina: The Musical"  (the musical story of Tina Turner). They had chosen to go to the matinee so that Di could get a sensible train back home.

I grabbed some lunch and settled down for 30 minutes with the Kindle before going out for a walk. I had timed the walk so that I would arrive back at the school gates just in time to collect Ellie from school. It was hot (about 28C), but it was a pleasant walk.

Ellie was my date for the evening, with Nana being away. We had a quiet hour or so, then Ellie went to get changed and do her hair. We were going out to dinner, just Ellie and Grandpa. We drove to a well-known South African/Portuguese restaurant - Nando's, where I escorted my date into the establishment and requested their finest table. We sat and discussed their menu and selected the dishes we would have them prepare for us, while we sipped from their best vintage Sprite. We had a delightful hour or so before heading home.

While Nana was making her way back from London (we were keeping a close eye on the train's progress), Ellie went to wash and get ready for bed. Then we settled down and (at her request) she did some reading to me, then we practised her times tables, which she seems to have mastered now. Just before 20:00, we drove to the station to collect Nana. She had clearly had a wonderful time but had trouble getting a word in edgeways as Ellie bombarded her with her general news of the day.

Ellie is staying with us overnight and has finally settled down. We will have a quiet hour in front of the TV before going up.